How studying English prepared me for the modern workplace

Over the course of six months I applied for over 400 jobs. To some that might sound like a lot, but I know a decent number of people who have applied to over a thousand jobs in the same time period. This is what the job market is like for folks these days – finding a new job is a journey, and you have to be prepared that it might be a long one.

The good thing about applying to so many jobs is that it gave me a lot of time to really think about what I wanted, and the jobs that I was applying for in month six were completely different than those I applied for in month one. The time also allowed me to get back to my roots in writing and take freelance jobs writing on subjects that varied from AI to lab-made opals. While I’m glad for that time and the clarity it has brought me, I’ve also noticed a lot of patterns that follow no matter what type of role or company I was applying for. In all 400+ jobs I applied to, I could count on one hand the number that listed a degree in English as a required or preferred qualification.

What Recruiters Are Asking For

There are a lot of great reasons to major in STEM or business areas, and those are often touted as the way to find a lucrative career. I also applied to dozens of jobs that specified they were looking for people with degrees in communication or marketing. As someone with both a BA and MA in English, I wasn’t scared off from applying for jobs that didn’t specifically mention “English” as a preferred degree for a few reasons. I had been working for 20 years in organizations big and small, from thousands of employees around the world, to one small office with 5 employees sharing three cubicles. And as a lifelong learner and passionate educational advocate, I had spent that time continuing to skill up, taking classes, earning certifications, delving into whatever topic was most needed in my role. 

But as I worked on updating my resume and cover letter for each job I was applying for, I couldn’t help but notice just how many of the skills these jobs were looking for were things I had learned while studying English. Even more than that, a lot of these were skills I saw colleagues struggle with – that’s not to say that you can only gain this experience by majoring in English, but a lot of these skills, both soft and hard, can directly be tracked to what you need to graduate with a degree in English.

All of that has brought me here – a list of what I learned studying English and literature, and why employers should take a closer look at candidates with those degrees on their resumes.

Getting and Staying Organized

Organization is one of the top requested skills from employers, and for good reason. Remembering, prioritizing, and delivering on your responsibilities is the foundation of just about every job. As an English major, I was often reading 4-5 books at the same time for different classes, prioritizing what needed to be done when, and making sure I kept everything straight. This would become especially essential in graduate school, where I was often taking similar classes at the same time and reading similar content. I was not born a particularly organized person – my messy desk can attest to that – but I took the skills I learned during college with me into the workplace and keeping all of the balls in the air felt like a natural extension of what I had done with my studies.

Summarizing Content and Writing Quickly

In addition to keeping organized, English majors also have to have great reading comprehension, as well as the ability to succinctly summarize what they have read. Whether you’re reporting to your superior, working with team members, or meeting with customers, being able to take in large amounts of information and synthesize it in a way your audience can best absorb the message is a skill used in every office and business. 

Researching and Evaluating Sources

English majors write a lot of papers, and they all need citations. As a result, we become experts in researching, finding support for the arguments we make, and vetting the sources we find as credible. We find ways to improve and tweak our search terms, dig into library collections, and come up with the exact niche information we need to prove that one author was influenced by another or that a narrator is unreliable. Research in the workplace, whether it’s to support new content, benchmark against competitors, or make a proposal, is an invaluable skill, especially when it comes to determining whether or not the information you find is valid.

Qualitative Analysis and Making Inferences

Business intelligence and statistical analysis are roles that continue to grow in today’s workplace. Quantitative analysis is important for businesses to make decisions about what to do next. But qualitative analysis is harder to quantify and can sometimes be the differentiating factor. Those who study literature are practiced in reading texts and interpreting the facts to come to a convincing conclusion. Being able to interpret qualitative information can make the difference between succeeding or failing, especially in the absence of a way to empirically evaluate the information in front of you.

Public Speaking and Presentations

In many of my seminars, each person in the class was assigned to moderate the discussion for 1-2 class sessions. This involved delving deep into the subject and preparing not just how to participate in the conversation but how to facilitate it. This meant that you were not only leading a discussion of your peers, but also proving to the professor that you had made yourself an authority on the topic. Facilitation and public speaking are not only sought after skills, but they are activities you really need practice to be good at. This kind of practice won’t completely get rid of any kind of fear of public speaking if you have it, but it will give you the opportunities you need to develop the skill of being poised and ready even if it isn’t your favorite activity. All of those seminars also helped me hone my ability to think on my feet and keep my composure when unexpected questions came my way.

The Ability to Have a Constructive Discussion When You Disagree

Disagreements are inevitable in the workplace. Having the tools you need to have a calm, mature, and productive conversation when that happens are valuable in any job, any role, any industry. Having conversations in class about how to interpret texts is great practice for not only being able to clearly state your opinion, but also actively listen to others rather than just preparing to rebut their argument. 

What Else Are Companies Missing Out On?

These are just a few of the ways studying English literature prepared me for a successful career. While these skills are certainly not unique to English majors, when added up in this way they provide a compelling argument for what makes them a great addition to any workplace.

English isn’t the only overlooked area of study. What other majors do you think employers are undervaluing? Let us know in the comments!

This is the first article in Jobalope’s new “Dear Recruiter” series. Do you have something on your mind that you wish recruiters and hiring managers knew? Let us know if you’d like to contribute to the series!